A Flash of Green into an Eternity
by orchids.and.magnolias
Summary: A flash of green and then, nothing. James Potter was hit by Voldemort's killing curse, but what happens after that? A one-shot about what happens to James  and Lily  after their final breaths.


A flash of green and then, nothing.

James Potter felt as though he might be in a deep sleep, suddenly thrust upon him. But the black against the other side of his eyelids turned to bright light he could not ignore.

He opened his eyes to find himself on a platform. The platform was remarkably similar to Platform 9 and 3/4, a place he knew well from his childhood. The only difference was the bright light surrounding him; it was as if everything had a soft glow about it. He noticed the steam being emitted from the train as if it were readying to depart. Though the train itself was not the same scarlet as the Hogwarts Express, rather, like everything else around him, it was a big paler, the color not as harsh. Normally he would have expected a platform such as this to be packed with people, but no one was in sight and the platform seemed to go on endlessly in both directions.

James looked down and found he was naked. Feeling exposed, he wished for clothes, and as soon as he had thought of it, clothes appeared to his left. He took them and put them on, continuing to look around, wondering how he had managed to get to this place.

When James turned around someone he had not seen before greeted him, he was greeted by his father, Ambrose Potter. Ambrose Potter and his wife had died in James' late teens from old age and he had longed for the security his dad always seemed to emanate. His father smiled at him and simply patted the seat next to him. James walked over to the elderly man and sat down next to him on a bench.

"I was hoping it would not be you I was being called to meet my dear boy," said James' father, in a voice filled with wisdom from age.

"Where am I?" asked James in wonder and suspicion. He hoped he was not where he thought he might be.

"You are in a sort of transition," said Ambrose Potter. "You were killed by Voldemort trying to protect Lily and Harry."

"How do you…"

James' father cut him off, "I have been watching you since my death, my son. I am very proud of you. I am even more proud that you died protecting those you loved. It was an honorable death." He smiled meaningfully at James and sighed. "As I was saying, you may board the train and be taken into the next life, securing yourself there for an eternity. Which is not bad, if I do say so myself. You may return to the world of the living." James perked up at the idea. He could see Lily again. "But," amended his father, "you can only return as a ghost, and once you do so you will not be given another chance to cross over again. You will seek out the toils that plagued you in your human life forever, and you will not be able to truly connect with those you go back to seek. You will wander the Earth plagued by the quarrels of your human life." James' face fell. "Though if you want, and it would ease your mind a bit, you may wait here for Lily for a short while and see of she comes to join you. After some time you will feel a pull that you cannot ignore, and at that time you must make your choice. Though I have a feeling you won't be waiting too terribly long. Lovers, like yourselves, don't often stay separated for long. Now," said his father standing, "I must return to your mother. I promised to have tea with her and you know how she is about being on time."

"Thank you," James said as he got up from the bench and hugged his father. "I'll see you soon."

"I'll see you again," whispered Ambrose Potter as he hugged his son. Then he walked down the platform, disappearing into the light.

James turned back to the bench where he and his father had just been, and sat down on it, to wait for Lily. A part of him prayed she had survived and would remain to care for and love Harry, to live, but another part of him, a selfish part of him, wished she would come to him.

While James waited he tried to think of his last few minutes, and what he could have changed. He remembered placing a Fidelius Charm on the house, with Peter Pettigrew as his Secret Keeper. He had originally planned for it to be Sirius, but Sirius convinced him that he was too obvious, and that Peter was a good alternative that most people wouldn't think of. Peter was timid, not the first person someone would pick for the job of Secret Keeper. It was a last minute decision, no one knew except for himself, Sirius, Peter, and Lily. He thought ahead to how he had been entertaining Harry in the den when he and Lily heard a noise outside, then they heard a lock click and their backdoor open. James and Lily both intuitively knew something was wrong, no one had announced themselves and the only person who came in without knocking was Sirius, who would have made enough noise to rouse all of Godric's Hollow. It was late on Halloween and no one should have been coming in.

James jumped up and ran into the kitchen, forgetting his wand. He came face to face with the man he and his family had been hiding from, Voldemort. He had yelled for Lily to run with Harry, but without his wand, James had been merely a body in the way. He had made a careless mistake that cost him not only his own life, but also possibly the lives of his wife and child. His head dropped into his hands in defeat.

After what seemed like an eternity being lost in thought, he heard a familiar voice. Not even quiet a voice, a sigh. A sigh that had greeted him every time the love of his life woke up next to him.

He got up from the bench and turning slightly to his right he saw her, Lily. She too was naked, but he could not have cared less. As he ran to her she opened her eyes fully and looked around. When she saw James she couldn't help but smile. James scooped her up into his arms and kissed her. One part of his mind was sad she was on the platform, but the selfish half, the louder half, was crying with joy that she was with him.

She kissed him back and then pulled away with a questioning, thoughtful expression. She looked around herself quickly and then glanced down at herself, realizing she was naked she wiggled out of James hold gave him a 'you couldn't have told me' stare. She looked around again, wishing for something to put on, when just like it had for James, clothes appeared for her. She dressed and sighed, looking up at James.

"Where are we?" she asked.

James looked down, almost ashamed to have to tell her. "We're dead, we're in a sort of transition. We can return as ghosts or, the better option, we can get on the train and move on into the next life."

Lily looked down, a tear escaping the corner of her eye. "What about Harry?" she cried. "What about my baby boy? He can't die! He can't be left alone!" Lily began to cry hysterically. James moved forward, encircling her in his arms, pulling her to him, as he stroked her hair.

"Shh," he whispered into her ear. "We don't know what will happen to him. We can't wait forever, but we can wait for a while, to see if he comes." He kissed her head, her forehead, her eyes, her cheeks, her nose, and finally her lips. When he pulled away she looked up at him with red, tear stained eyes. He wished death could have taken away all forms of pain, but apparently it could not, or maybe it did, you just had to cross over completely for it to happen.

"It will be okay," he comforted, looking into her eyes. "If her comes here, it will be soon, we will be here, and we will care for him." Lily let out an escaped sob, dropping her head to his chest. James up and brought Lily's eyed back to his, holding her chin gently. "And, if he does not come here, it means he miraculously survived, which we should be thankful for, and Sirius, as godfather, will take care of him. Also, I'm sure Remus and anyone from the Order would gladly help in any way they could. You know Alice Longbottom would love Harry like her own son, and as I said, Sirius, though not the most morally sound individual," Lily let out a giggle, "would step up and do absolutely anything for Harry." The pad of his thumb caressed her cheek lovingly. "He won't be alone, Lily. No matter where he ends up. He won't be alone."

Lily nodded in agreement. "I know, I just… I… a part of me wants him to live, and be taken care of and loved by everyone, but a selfish part of me wants him here, where I can hold him," she confessed.

"I know," sighed James, "I know." He pulled her against his chest, stroking her hair, waiting.

Whether it was moments later, or hours later, Ambrose Potter appeared, walking back to where they were on the platform. James heard his approach and looked up. Lily looked away from James, but it took her a minute to recognize the man, because she had only met him two or three times before. She gave him a soft smile as he approached.

"Nice to see you Lily, beautiful as ever," welcomed Ambrose, giving her a fatherly kiss on the cheek.

"Hello Ambrose," she replied.

Before James could ask, Ambrose began, "I know you both were waiting for Harry, but he has not been killed. When Voldemort killed you, Lily," acknowledging her, "the way you so willingly gave your life created a shield of sorts, for Harry." Lily's knees gave out and she collapsed into James arms, crying mixed tears, tears of joy and tears of sad, longing. James stared wordlessly at his father as he continued, "I'm not entirely sure how it worked, but because of Lily's shield, Voldemort's killing curse aimed at Harry rebounded, killing him." The couple began to fill with joy until Ambrose cut off their premeditated celebration, "He did not die entirely though. For some reason a part of himself still anchors him to Earth. He is neither ghost nor man, but a spirit looking for a body." James and Lily were torn between happiness and fear.

"What about Harry?" asked Lily, "What happened to him after Voldemort died, per say."

"Ah. This is why I waited to tell you. I wanted to be sure he was safe, before hand." Ambrose smiled. "Harry has been removed from the house by Hagrid and has been taken to your sister's house, Lily, where Dumbledore and McGonagall met him. They left him at your sisters."

"What? Why? Why, Petunia?" asked Lily in haste. "Of all the people, why her?"

Ambrose raised his hand to stop her and any onslaught from James. "Dumbledore thought it best. Dumbledore fears that for ridding the world of Voldemort, even if just temporarily, will make him a kind of celebrity in our world. Dumbledore did not think it wise for Harry to grow up in that kind of spotlight. Also, there is a pending investigation about Sirius." James and Lily's eyes grew wide. "You both failed to tell anyone else about the switch of the Secret Keeper, so it is assumed that Sirius sold you out to Voldemort and that he is a Death Eater."

"No!" shouted James angrily. "What…"

"It is pending, James," calmed Ambrose. "Dumbledore is doing everything he can to reason with the Ministry, but there is only so much he can do. Only time will tell."

James' head fell in defeat, but Ambrose called back his attention. "Harry will be welcomed back into the world of magic when he is old enough, celebrity or not." Ambrose let the smile he had been holding back escape. "Now, I don't have infinite knowledge on these matter, but when you two cross over you can do all the questioning and research you please."

James felt the pull his father had told him about earlier, and it was clear Lily did as well.

"I leave you to your decisions," said Ambrose as he left.

James looked at Lily with a smile, taking her hand, and giving her a soft kiss.

"Are you ready for this?" he asked.

"I'm ready for anything with you," she said, drying her final tears, smiling at James, as he led them onto the train as it began to move, slowly onto their eternity.

Thanks for reading. :)

I do not own any characters or ideas, only my own twist. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling.

3, Madi


End file.
